How the Appalachian Trail Ruined My Life| Reality after a Thru Hike

Thumbnail Idea credit goes to Darwin on the Trail. Check out his channel for a similar video he made in 2017. I thought I’d explain my version of this exact idea. Thank you Darwin !

[all-to-Him-I-owe]

Okay don’t look at it that way - it hasn’t ruined your life, it has awakened something in your soul. You are empty doing what you once liked to do bc now THIS is what you need to do. You only get one life - and I firmly believe you won’t be happy unless you are helping others. And your videos on trail let those of us who can’t thru hike get to experience it. And that helps us have adventures with you. I still have adventures of my own too, but after a long tough day in the hospital I love to see a post from you!

My advice? Hike the PCT, hike the CDT. Find a way, knowing that one day you may not want to do that anymore either and you know what I think? That is okay! In my heart, I believe that as long as you are helping others and serving - you will find your fulfillment. Right now - it’s hiking. So go hike! Find a way and get out there!
Your intro is truly what has happened to you - you have transformed from a dancer into a hiker and that is who you are now!
Also - remember who you are. You are a strong German (now American to me) woman. You up and moved to a different country and completely fit in. You hiked the AT - dude you did that! Think about what you really want and then go get it. If you fail - pick yourself back up and try again. I believe in you. So many of us are cheering for you! You can do this! So many of us will be praying and rooting you on!
As my old Swedish roommate used to tell me in college - “go get’em dawg!”

[kipbeegle]

This is what, we suffer from it, call post trail depression Roadrunner. The feelings you are having are pretty normal after the trail. Fitting back into mundane life is hard, muggles just don't understand, I still struggle with it some days. It gets better my friend. Spending time with tramily or even other past thru-hikers help. Keep hiking, try bikepacking too, write a book, or do trail magic. Trail magic has always made me feel amazing for a long time afterward when I had empty feelings.
I’ll say this also, your videos help me with my empty feelings.

[codyhikes]

AT thru-hiker here, class of ‘21. I have never related so much to a post-trail video, I feel the same way after my 4 month journey. I have yet to find contentment in my normal life since thru-hiking, and I desperately long to find a place in this world. The AT truly re-wires the brain, and makes you crave more than normality. I hope we can both find where we truly belong ❤

[carrieprewitt]

My prayers are with you. You have inspired, educated and entertained me as I am preparing for my thru hike this coming spring. Wishing you the best. I am also a fellow Floridian.

[amerphoto]

I have watched quite a few hikers that vlog videos on the trail and there seems to be a similar pattern going on of post trail depression and anxiety amongst many of them, and I have heard that this happens a lot of other hikers too. Chasing Blazes was having a terrible time with it. Badbats has gone off the YouTube Channel and not sure what is happening to her, and I am sure you know more than a few too. It did not seem until recently it is happening to you too and I am concerned for you. Back when you made the videos of the TRT you seemed so upbeat that the confidence you have gained from some of your jobs and hiking the AT and TRT was turning you into a super woman... and you are and you were happy! You have experienced what it is that makes you happy and you yearn for it. Anything else seams mondain and unsatisfying to you. Use this newfound happiness as your goal to work towards. But, in working towards it, you will have to fund yourself financially, keep working at what is a dream job for you and occupy your spare time that evolves around hiking, possibly about making videos (because you are so good at it) about long distance hiking and I still think your idea of shake down hikes are wonderful despite what nay sayers say to you about them. Break into that market now as you are young and there are not a lot of people doing it. Maybe a move to the mountains would be a good step as you would be where you love and the trial nearby. I am sure there are cities in states not far from the trail(s) that have dance schools and I think that is also your true love. Your channel is the best and you are the best Juliane! Keep your chin up and work towards that next adventure! Remember the trail saying, "hike your own hike", same as you "live your own life". Do what makes you happy Juliane! We all love you!

[Get_Some_Nature]

I successfully thruhiked the A T last year. We rode the same shuttle back to Pearisburg Va after Trail Days. I finished behind you so our paths never crossed again. I know exactly how you feel about not fitting in with 'normal' life anymore. We are feral now and we seek the freedom that we had on trail. Not a day goes by that I wish I was still on trail. The A T is part of us now and always will be. I want to hike both the PCT and CDT in the next 10 years. I will be a triple crowner before I die! 🫂👣🦵🦵

[HuangXingQing]

I've learned about 'trail withdrawals' for 15 years but you are the first to speak of it in detail. I began fulltiming 15 years ago and realized after 6 years in, when I no longer needed to live in a Sprinter RV that I had no desire to return to normal life. Same when I leave monastic residency, every time. I just scored a PCT permit and I've been waiting to hike the PCT for 15 years, anticipating all the changes my body and mind will absorb and I don't give a fuck if I 'ever come back'. jejeje

[luisahirsch]

Hi Roadrunner! I am so sorry to hear that you are feeling like you are in a rut. 😔 I think it is amazing that you teach ballroom and just know you are making a positive impact on others whether it is for them building self-confidence or growing in their knowledge of dance or just simply providing them with a happy space to unwind and enjoy dancing. Also, I think it is wonderful that you are sharing your experience and knowledge of hiking with others who want to do a shake down hike to prepare and gain more confidence in preparation for the AT. Don't listen to negative posts and don't let that stop you from doing something that you enjoy and from something that is having a positive impact on those you are helping! A suggestion maybe is to start making plans for your next "thru-hike" of whichever trail you are doing next and then it will get you excited and will be something to look forward to! I am sure you have some fun ones in mind! I look forward to seeing those adventures! 😊

[shawntatro]

Hey RR, I’ve been watching your PCT thru hike, and I wanted to see where you came from so I started watching some of your earlier videos. Your personality and smile on trail is amazing, and then I see these earlier videos and see how unhappy you were. I love the woods too, and I hate people. Now you don’t know me but I’ve been camping since before I could walk, went through scouts, made Eagle and along the way, at like 14 I climbed Katahdin. I swore that someday I would hike the AT. Then life got in the way and I have never left my dream. I’m now 53, and have learned that you have to build a life you don’t need to get away from. What does that mean you ask. It means live in a place you don’t have to leave to be happy. I have built a life, live in a home on 7 acres of woods, that I don’t have to leave to be happy. That IS my happy place. We go camping now to campgrounds to what, hear kids scream, dogs bark?? I don’t need that nor want that. I have a fire pit, a small camper, it is my happy place. As for the hating people part, well, not all people, my work is off normal business hours, and I rarely have to deal with them for 8 plus hours.

This is just a suggestion, find a place you are happy, like Oregon or Maine, you said how nice the people are there, find a small place in the woods, and keep life simple. You could try and get a job at a national park, or trail maintenance, or SAR. Whatever your personal reason that is anchoring you in Florida, you have to decide if that is going to hold you in place or you can cut that rope and be free to live the life YOU want and deserve.

[douglaswood]

You've been bitten by the "trail bug". I live in a northern CT trail town from May thru October as a seasonal tent camper.I see the hikers come in and out of town everyday during that time. Days I am not working I meet the hikers, strike up conversations, tell them where to resupply and drive them anywhere they need to go in the area. Believe it or not, I look forward to these connections. Trail angels would understand. Just living here in this trail town excites me and I look forward to returning in early May to help the 2024 class of through hikers.

[Bibs]

I feel your pain. I’m two years from retirement and I hate every day of work. I have so many things I want to do, but I have to finish my career for financial reasons.

[OUTDOORS.DREADHEAD]

Don’t let people get down I think you doing the shake down hikes is a great idea for beginners it helps a lot

[HikingPhalkawn]

This is a very personal and insightful video which is shared with her audience just for the purposes of being transparent with who she is and what she is feeling / going through. For all those commenting with the quick advice on how to deal with those feelings, especially those who seem to think she should just relocate. I doubt things are so simple that this is a solution that could be easily accomplished (whether or not it would even really address all the issues presented here). Remember she said she had some private reasons for staying in Florida - I suspect this has to do with personal relationships that she just has not shared fully on YouTube (note the ring on her finger which she not-so-subtly referenced in a recent video, and the child booster seat in the backseat of her car). Sometimes just a comment of support without the need to offer a solution is all someone really needs from us.

[Joshmasanow]

Can’t say it ruined mine but good for you to realize what you did. I just finished and returned to Florida as well. Good luck on finding your way!

[somerandomguy]

Your a mountain woman now. nothing wrong with that. Maybe its time to make a change in your life. Maybe its time to to make a big move in your life. NC is a great place to live. But if you do decide to move anywhere. Just make sure you stay out of the big cities is all. I personally would love to see the product your working on. I have a feeling you might be overthinking it. I hate to see you bummed out like this 😢😓 much love comeing your way. And i will keep you in my prayers 🙏

[johnmysam]

Move up north and start a hiker hostel....Go back on trail and make a guide for every single stealth spot on the AT and sell it. Make it into an at a hiking gear store....How about being a guide on the AT for day hikes and short sections. I'm a guy. All we can do is try and come up with solutions when all you probably want is a hug.

[leawhite]

I once read “ You are not a tree. If you don’t like it where you are, move”. 💚

[patrickhanlon]

JMO
You have answered your own questions about what you want in life and to do. Someone had a great suggestion is move to a place near the trail or a trail town(Hot Springs). First you may want to get the triple crown under your belt. You have fallen in love with the mtns like you did when you moved from Germany to Florida. Still continue your dancing career. Become a ridge runner. Patrol and help others on the trail. Continue your shakedown hikes. Then maybe get into becoming a hostel or a shuttle. This keeps your hand in pickle jar. You may even make a decent amount of money. So with a little hosteling, ridge running, dancing and shakedowning, you will satisfy all your needs.

Hang in there and good luck
SloMoe

[memathews]

Some thru-hikers tell me that the trail was a catalyst to feelings they had or directions they wanted to explore. They hoped the trail would resolve those feelings, but the best it could do was help them focus their thoughts. It seems you are working on the directions you have wanted to explore and this takes some time to find the right fit.

As a survivor of a number of technology startups, I can understand some of your confusion and doubts. The only solution is to jump in. Explore the ideas you think are most likely and then be willing to continue or cut them as they do or don't work out. Just remember to cut the less likely attempts quickly so you can focus on the better performing ideas. Really, it's just like following a path through a snowstorm, you cannot clearly see where you're headed, but you know when to retrace your steps or to continue on.

[jeffbennett]

The trail definitely saved your life and mine. A long thru hike is like a long deployment in the military, you have a different family everything you own is on your back and you realize you don't need a whole lot to make you happy. Franklin is a great little trail town and the people are very friendly. As I hiked the trail people asked what are you looking for, why are you walking I never knew how to answer, it wasn't so much of what I was looking for but I figured out what I wasn't looking for, what I didn't need in life. All hikers go through a post trail slump, some worse than others. It's been three years since I finished and Iam still experiencing slumps. I don't have any answers but just wanted to let you know you are not alone. I volunteer and try to be around people as much as possible, people that need help in their daily lives. Hostels are closing all the time on the trail maybe that might be a opportunity. When I watched your video O kept thinking you would be great at owning or running one. Hope this helps. Keep going back to those towns that you loved and soak up the people.